Drawn
by Fai Gensou
Summary: It's not just the current generation of Dragon Warriors who are drawn to Yona... ...and Hiryuu is closer to the surface than anyone guessed.
1. Chapter 1

Drawn

Chapter 1

Summary: It's not just the present generation of dragons who are drawn to Yona…and Hiryuu is closer to the surface than anyone guessed.

Yona was a chatty baby from her earliest days, always babbling and giggling at unseen people. King Ju-nam was convinced she was talking to his wife, Yona's namesake, who had died about a year before her birth.

Guen, Abi, and Shuten couldn't help but hang around their reborn King. "Man, if he'd been a girl the first time around he wouldn't have needed us." Guen commented, dangling his necklace for baby Yona to try and grab.

Her hands always passed through it, but she kept trying.

"He must really have gone senile to come back as a girl." Shuten retorted, standing guard by the window.

"Haven't you had enough of questioning His Majesty's state of mind?" Abi asked drily, offering Yona his necklace to try and grab. "And quit hogging her attention."

"It's nighttime; shouldn't both of you stop hogging her attention and let her sleep?" Shuten pointed out. "She'll never sleep through the night if you keep doing that."

"Since when did you become an expert on kids? It wasn't until the last few years of your life that you even bothering hunting down your sown oats." Guen complained. "The moon's not that high up! She'll be fine."

Shuten and Guen glared at each while Abi just sighed. Yona decided it was the funniest thing ever and starting giggling madly.

Her mother poked her head in with that. "I wish your spirit guardians would not keep you up, no matter how happy they make you." She walked over and straightened the light blanket covering her lower half.

She was unusual in refusing a wet nurse, feeding and looking after Yona herself. Yona beamed up at her mother, focusing all her attention on her. "Sweet dreams little dove. Not that I need to say it." Her mother kissed her forehead and left the room.

Shuten couldn't help looking triumphant.

"Wonder if we could enter her dreams?" Abi mused later in the night, Guen and Shuten dozing on each other. "We could with Ouryuu."

"He's a dragon; rules might be different." Guen proposed with a yawn.

A noise beyond the wall drew all their attention. The three couldn't help tensing in anticipation of an attack, until Guen gasped. "Ouryuu….?"

A small section of wall slid open, and their eternally young brother crawled in. His eyes had more life in them than they had seen in a while. The trio watched sadly as he crawled over to where baby Yona slept, his wife trailing behind. "Hello brothers," Kaya greeted them. "He couldn't keep away."

"Still can't see you?" Shuten asked.

She shook her head. "But Zeno and Kaya can be together in Zeno's dreams, even if he can't really remember in the morning."

"He can see other ghosts, so why…?" Abi asked as Zeno knelt by baby Yona, working up the nerve to look inside the crib.

"Too much pain." Guen answered, somewhat gruffly.

They all crowded around the crib, peering in as Zeno finally looked inside. Yona opened her eyes as he did, as if she had sensed his presence, beaming up at her Ouryuu.

A pulse rippled through the room, and Zeno clutched his medallion as he bit his lip. The voice from so long ago echoed through the four dragons' souls.

 _Warriors of the Four Dragons_

 _From now on, you are our other halves_

 _With Hiryuu as your master, protect him, love him, and never betray him_

 _For as long as you live!_

"….I wasn't…expecting that…" Zeno panted, Yona looking up at him with concerned eyes. "Wouldn't the original vow been enough…?" He wondered, as he licked blood off his lip, the cuts from his fangs already healed.

"Ou…" Attention was refocused on Yona, frowning as she struggled to address Zeno.

Zeno ran his fingers gently over her crimson hair, easing her frown. "Zeno's fine, Miss-"

"Miss?! He was the most formal of all of us!" Shuten roared.

"Shh!" Kaya hissed.

"-just not expecting what happened. But Zeno can feel you better now, so it's fine."

Yona eyed him like she was trying to determine if he was telling the truth. She held her arms out, a clear request to be picked up. "If Zeno does that, he won't be able to let you go again."

Reaching inside his tunic, he pulled out a stuffed animal in the form of a crimson dragon. "Zeno couldn't get everything for the other four, so I'll be back four more times." He promised her as he placed the dragon next to her.

Kaya elbowed Guen, gesturing to the door, which was open a fraction. 'Her nurse?' She mouthed.

'Her mother', he mouthed back.

She didn't seem inclined to intrude on the scene, a gentle smile on her face.

Yona snuggled up with the dragon, yawning as she did. Hands clenched on the side of the crib, Zeno leaned over and kissed her head. "Zeno will be back soon Miss." He whispered, slowly retreating to the small door in the wall.

"Kaya will see you next time brothers!" Kaya exclaimed, following Zeno as he left.

The door slid open gently a few minutes after Zeno's departure. "He told me not to turn Ouryuu away should he come, and I can see why. So much sadness…" Yona's mother whispered. "But it might be crueler to have him stay. Nothing changes faster than babies."

The trio exchanged questioning looks, not knowing the 'he' she was referring to.

"Should I be jealous of another man appearing in your dreams instead of me?" Her husband, the current King's second son, teased as he joined his wife in the door.

"Oh hush you." She chided. "If that was the case then I'd have to be jealous too; you did say you saw him too."

"True…" Her husband conceded. "Is it selfish, if I don't want the fire to ever awake?"

"We'll be selfish together, then, and create as many happy memories as possible, should the darkness Hiryuu-sama spoke of comes." She answered as the door slid shut, leaving a sleeping Yona and three flabbergasted ghosts.

To my BoE fans: I'm sorry; I found a new blond to torture. I'm on vacation this week, so I will get off my ass and post a new chapter by next Monday.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Akatsuki no Yona.

* * *

The trio just stared at each other. "She did just say what I thought she said, right?" Abi finally asked. "That Hiryuu-sama warned them of coming darkness?"

"That's what I heard too." Guen said. "Maybe that's why it so hard to stay away, beyond her being Hiryuu's reincarnation."

"Bit useless as we are." Shuten said glumly. "Never thought Ouryuu'd ever be more useful than me."

"We can still keep watch." Guen reminded him. "And if we try hard enough we're sure to be able to alert someone."

There was really nothing more to be said with that.

* * *

They did not see Zeno again until winter, near the solstice. The heavens seemed intent on burying everything in white, so his visit was something of a surprise.

It was another relatively dull night. "We're dead; why the hell am I cold?" Abi complained, huddled next to Shuten.

"If I could answer that, we wouldn't be cold anymore." He answered.

"A-ba!" Yona's exclamation drew their attention to her.

She had pulled herself up to stand in the crib, and was pointing at Abi. "She said my name!" Abi cheered.

"She said, 'A-ba'. That is nowhere near your name." Guen pointed out, jealous that Yona had not said his name first.

"She's one sound off and is pointing at me." Abi retorted, walking over to her. "A-bi." He told her, pronouncing his name carefully.

"A-ba! Gu! Shu! Ze!" She pointed to each in turn, ending with Zeno, who had just opened the wall to enter.

"Zeno may never have had children, but he's certain you're meant to be sleeping." He crawled out.

"Can't the bastard have the decency to look cold?" Shuten grumbled, eyeing the lightweight clothing on Zeno.

"Language!" Guen hissed.

"Ou-Ze!" Yona said once Zeno was at the side of the crib.

"That's right; Ouryuu Zeno." He told her.

"Se-A-ba! Ha-Gu! Ro-Shu!" She told him emphatically, pointing to each in turn again.

"Zeno's brothers have visited you? The miss is too cute to keep away from for long." Zeno replied, resting his hands on the crib rail.

"You blind idiot; we're right here!" Guen choked out, trying not to cry.

Shuten found the wall very interesting, while Abi pressed his sleeve to his eyes.

Yona placed her hand on top of his, shocking him. Looking at Zeno seriously, she repeated what she had done before. "A-ba. Gu. Shu. Ze."

Looking to Zeno's immediate right, where Kaya had knelt unseen by Zeno, she said, "Ka." Pointing as she did so.

"They're….here now? Zeno's brothers…and Kaya?" Zeno whispered, tears gathering as he frantically looked everywhere Yona had pointed.

"Kaya is always with Zeno. And our brothers are always here with Yona." Kaya whispered, grabbing his arm as the other three crowded around.

Zeno started as they each touched him. "I…haven't felt them…for so long…" The gathered tears starting falling.

Yona lifted her hands to rest on each of Zeno's cheeks, the look on her face so much like how Hiryuu had looked at them that it was hard to believe she was only eight months old. "Ze."

"If only we could preserve this image!" Kaya cried, caught in the feelings of the moment and the cuteness of the scene before her.

"Zeno is fine now Miss." He told her. "It's just been a very long time."

Yona studied him seriously, before pulling on his tunic. "Ah, Zeno does have another dragon for the miss."

He reached inside and pulled out a stuffed white dragon. "It was hard to pick…but Zeno felt for winter it should be Hakuryuu." He said as he handed her the new dragon.

Guen couldn't resist pumping a fist in the air.

Shuten just hit him with his spear.

"Gu! Shu!" Yona exclaimed, giggling as she pointed to them.

"Are Hakuryuu and Ryokuryuu fighting again?" Zeno asked, looking to where she had pointed. "Zeno can't see them…or Seiryuu or Kaya. But it's enough for now, to have felt them again."

He smiled at her, running a gentle hand over her hair. "Will you let Zeno cover you back up? It is really cold."

She beamed at him as she laid back down, carefully setting the crimson dragon on one side, while clinging to the white dragon.

"Zeno will be back when it's warm again, for your first birthday." He promised her, somehow pulling away from the crib to the opening he had entered through.

Kaya just waved goodbye, still wiping away tears.

"Ou-Ze…" Yona murmured to herself with a smile, snuggling in between her crimson dragon and her white dragon.

"That almost makes up for freezing." Abi declared. "Now stop fighting or I'm going to paralyze your asses!" He yelled at Guen and Shuten, who had devolved into wrestling on the floor.

A sleepy giggle was his only response.

* * *

"Did you have a good first birthday Yona?" Her mother whispered into her ear as she brought the drowsy Yona into her room.

"Ze-no…" She said with a yawn, rubbing her face into her mother's shoulder.

"Zeno will be here soon. But if you don't go to sleep you won't be able to wake up when he does come." Her mother assured her, setting her down in the crib, the two dragons on each side of her. "Sweet dreams little dove. Happy birthday."

Kissing her forehead, her mother slid the door closed.

"Time's flown by; hard to believe she's a year old already." Guen commented, attempting to open a drawer.

"And yet time with you two drags on like always." Shuten complained. "The old Ryokuryuu needs to hurry up and die already so I can whip his ass."

"He's still alive?" Abi asked, shocked. "Mine's still alive, but the new one is only two. How long has yours held on?"

"Ten years!" Shuten roared. "I know I bred stubborn descendants, but he's setting a record for survival!"

"Eh, my old one almost gone." Guen added. "Current one turned five day before yesterday, so not much longer."

"So the current generation will be the ones then." Abi mused. "They've stopped naming my descendants. The current one calls the previous one 'Ao' for lack of anything else."

"Mine's Kija. The last five generations have been father to son." Guen told the others.

"The current one is named Jae-ha. He better escape before she goes looking for him." Shuten grumbled. "I know my descendants have no subtlety…but surely there's a better way than the one the village is using now."

"The Seiryuu and Ryokuryuu clans have become fearful of their legacy. I know the Seiryuu lost their heritage when that one predecessor died with the successor still an infant, but…" Abi mused.

"But my successors keep turning into evil spirits when they die, consumed with longing for a master that never came, and the anguish of knowing they would not be the one to serve." Guen said. "It can't really be said any of our lines have had happy fates."

There was a mutual sigh. Before the descent into moodiness continued farther, the wall slid open revealing Zeno. "But it has to be conceded that Ouryuu has had the saddest fate of all." Shuten reluctantly admitted.

"Hmm…it's too moody in here for the Miss's first birthday. Why are Zeno's brothers moody?" Zeno wondered as he went to the crib.

"Too much sadness and regret, even in death." Kaya answered, resting a hand on his back.

"Eh, Zeno's brothers need to find the bright side!" He said, peeking in at a sleeping Yona.

"He can hear you?!" Guen exclaimed, hopeful.

Kaya shook her head. "Not really. But he can get a sense of what Kaya says if she's touching him. But I think it's close! Him hearing me." She insisted.

"The Miss must have had an exhausting day. Zeno doesn't want to disturb her, but…"

"Please, stay until morning."

Zeno practically leapt out of his skin at the response, turning to the door as Yona's mother walked in. "You are welcome any time you come, Ouryuu-sama." She told him with a bow. "My name is Cheonsa."

Zeno returned the bow. "How…?" He trailed off.

"Hiryuu-sama came to me-and my husband-in dreams, while I was pregnant with Yona. He spoke of you, and asked we not turn you away." She explained gently. "There is no access to this room aside from our bedroom, so it is easy to be sure you are undisturbed."

"…if Z-I can bring myself to leave in the morning." He admitted, examining the floor.

Cheonsa walked over to the crib. Picking up Yona, she suddenly (to him) handed her to him. "She has been looking forward to you coming. She must have sensed you nearby, or her guardian spirits told her. So please, stay tonight."

Zeno's arms squeezed the sleeping Yona. "Thank you."

Cheonsa bowed again as she exited, sliding the door closed behind her.

"And now I'm jealous. Always loved holding my children while they slept." Guen said with tears in his eyes.

"Sap." Shuten accused, his own eyes suspiciously bright.

Shifting as much as he dared, Zeno made himself comfortable against the crib, resting his cheek against Yona's hair. Her arms had wrapped around his neck when her mother had handed her over despite being soundly asleep. Kaya knelt in front of them, hands squeezed in front of her mouth. "He'd have been a great father. There had only been a few times where…and I was too ill for it ever to have been a possibility." She admitted.

"Why can I felt my brothers and Kaya now? I doubt their presence is anything new." Zeno wondered. "Does it have to do with Hiryuu coming back? But if that's the case, why would his return let me feel them? Does…does this mean…I could see them again?"

He hid his face in Yona's hair. "Too much wishful thinking, Zeno."

"It IS strange." Abi said. "Thousands of years where he showed absolutely no sign of even feeling us, any of us, to now feeling us?"

"It probably won't stop there." Guen added. "We may become as visible to him as all the other spirits are."

"I wanna know how we're able to leave Heaven so easily." Shuten declared. "It's understandable now, with our senile King being reborn, but even before, we could easily go see our clans or Zeno or Hiryuu Castle even!" He balanced his spear on his shoulders to keep from slamming it in the floor. "So why?"

"Umm…" The three dragons turned to Kaya. "I think…I know something."

"Yes?" Abi prompted with a pointed look.

"When I died…Ouryuu-kami came for me. He apologized, for not being able to answer Zeno's pleas to save my life." Kaya admitted. "When the dragons gave their power to all of you, they gave pieces of themselves. Dragons…they can readily move between Earth and Heaven. That applies to all of you as well. You three…you became part dragon, so after your deaths…your souls can move between Heaven and Earth as easily as they can."

"That only covers us." Guen pointed out. "That can't apply to Zeno."

"Ouryuu-kami…he saw that the power of the dragon warriors would be needed again. But if all four lines of power were handed down through the generations…too much knowledge would be lost. So he planned ahead, picking Zeno when he was a baby. That's why he could hear the gods. When the warriors were chosen, Ouryuu-kami gave more than the other three. Zeno is closer to truly being the other half of Ouryuu than you or your descendants." Kaya looked at the three of them solemnly. "The only one who could have answered Zeno's pleas was Zeno himself."

"Alright, hold up!" Shuten roared. "You're saying that Zeno's part divine or something?"

"As far as I understand it anyway." Kaya answered. "I think it has something to do with why Zeno has not been able to even feel us until recently…Ouryuu-kami was able to let Kaya stay at Zeno's side because he had already shared some of his power with Kaya, even though he wasn't aware of it at the time."

Shuten couldn't help the perverted grin that spread over his face. "So he wasn't useless in bed, eh?"

"Oi! Stop thinking with the wrong head!" Guen yelled disapprovingly.

"Like you're in much position to talk." Abi said dryly. "You had three wives."

"And as I've explained repeatedly, they were identical triplets. It was the easiest way to keep everyone happy."

"Yeah just keep telling yourself that." Shuten leered at Guen.

Kaya hid her red cheeks behind her hands, along with a secretive smile.

"Perverts. All of you." Abi complained with a sigh.

* * *

It was in the early light of dawn that Yona stirred. Rubbing her face in Zeno's shoulder, her eyes shot open when she realized who was holding her. "Ze-no!"

Zeno jotted out of his daze at her cry. "Good morning Miss. Happy birthday!"

"Ze-no! A-bi! Gu-en! Shu-ten! Ka-ya!" She rattled off the names her trio of spirits had spent weeks getting her to say correctly.

"Zeno bets Abi spent a lot of time getting you to say them right." He commented.

"OI! WE HELPED!" Guen and Shuten yelled.

Grinning, Yona started pulling at Zeno's tunic, hunting for the present she knew had to be in there. "Ah, be patient Miss! Zeno can get it without you undressing me!"

He pulled out a green stuffed dragon. Shuten started gloating. "HA! You lose Abi!"

Abi sulked in the corner. Kaya just patted his back in sympathy.

"It was kinda hard, but none of the blue or yellow cloth felt soft enough to Zeno. So Ryokuryuu it is" Yona latched onto her new dragon. "Tha-yo!"

"Zeno has to go now Miss." With this, Yona tightened her grip on Zeno's neck. "NO!"

"Oh boy…" Guen slapped a hand over his face. "Here we go…"

"Yona." Somehow Zeno forestalled the oncoming tears with his tone of voice.

Yona looked at Zeno watery-eyed. "I'll come back." He promised. "If I stay here I won't be able to get the cloth to make Seiryuu or Ouryuu. And even when I'm not here, I'm always thinking of you. So be good for my brothers."

He kissed her forehead as he stood, balancing Yona on his hip. "Can Zeno put you back in the crib?"

Thinking about it, Yona finally nodded firmly. "Ze-no 'mise?"

"Zeno promises." He assured her as he left.

Yona stood in her crib clinging to her green dragon, staring at the place on the wall where Zeno had left. "Ze-no…" She said. "Ze-no sad…"

She set her crimson dragon at the head of her crib and her white dragon at the foot. Still holding her green dragon, she laid back down and hugged it and her blanket. "Ze-no foo…"

* * *

If I'm going to keep having Yona's mother in this, she needs a name. 'Cheonsa' means 'angel' in Korean. 10/23/2018 This was originally written before her mother's name was revealed in canon, and I'm not changing it.


	3. Chapter 3

The three dragons were sprawled out in the shade, watching a sixteen-month old Yona playing in a pan of ice water with her cousin Su-won, who was four and a half years old. Their mothers sat in the shade of the porch chatting. "The youth and energy of small kids is wasted on them." Abi complained, having striped down to his under-robe.

"You sure you're not just ridiculously temperature sensitive?" Shuten questioned, himself having shrugged his robe off his shoulders.

"Says the man with a bare chest." Guen retorted, eagle spread nearby, down to just his pants.

"Neither of you can criticize when you're showing more skin than me." Abi pointed out.

"Heat's fine; it's this humidity that's the killer." Shuten conceded. "How those two can be playing like this is bizarre. Even if they are playing with water."

Normally at least Guen would at least be trying to manipulate the water somehow, but with two people around who were unaware of them meant they were stuck off to the side.

Abi raised up on his elbows as he spotted two people approaching. "Incoming."

"Who is it?" Guen asked.

"The Wind General Mundok…and a kid."

'The kid' was a boy who looked to be Su-won's age, with black hair and blue eyes. "Somehow he seems familiar." Shuten commented as he squinted, too lazy to get up for a closer look.

The Wind General soon departed, leaving the boy behind. He just stayed on the porch, evidently unwilling to join the two at the pan of water. The women didn't try forcing him, patiently trying to entice conversation out of him.

Catching sight of the new arrival, Yona stood and started over to him. "Oh this is gonna be interesting." Guen said with a smirk.

Hak wasn't quite sure why the old man who kept calling himself 'Grandpa' had even brought him to this castle, let alone to this place with two women watching two kids play. Thankfully they didn't try and make him play with the other kids. "There's plenty of fruit if you're hungry." The lady with violet-colored eyes told him. He thought Gramps had called her Cheonsa; he hadn't been paying attention.

"No thanks." He told her, plopping down on the edge of the porch.

There were three guys in various degrees of undress lounging in the shade. They seemed fuzzy on the edges, like they weren't quite real. But with the women ignoring them, he decided not to make a deal over it.

"Ha-kun!" A tiny girl's voice exclaimed.

His first impression was glowing red, like the bright stone his mama had worn. Focusing on her, the second impression was a tiny little girl, younger than him, with eyes like the one lady and brilliant red hair. "My name's Hak." He told her. "Not Ha-kun."

She blinked, like he said something strange. "Ha-kun?"

"Hak."

"Ha-kun is Hak?" She said, tilting her head.

"Yeah I guess." Hak agreed, not sure who 'Ha-kun' was, but feeling too lazy to argue further.

"Play with Yona? And Won?" She asked, grabbing his hand and starting to pull him with her.

Normally, Hak would have pulled away. He didn't care much for other kids, but for some reason, he let himself be pulled along as she started running back to the other kid.

She tripped over something, and Hak found himself catching her. "Gotta watch out." He said.

She looked at him once again like this was a strange remark. "Why? Hak is here. Won is here." She informed him as they reached the other kid, crouched by a pan of water.

"Hak." She told the other kid (Hak wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl).

"I'm Su-won!" The kid introduced him/herself with a smile that almost blinded Hak with its perkiness. "Water fight!"

Mad giggles were Hak's only warning as he got splashed. He splashed back, and was soon as soaked as the other two.

He could see the three guys better from his new spot. Their hair was weird; Hak didn't think hair could be blue or green. The guy with white hair wasn't as weird, but he had nowhere near the number of wrinkles that other people he'd seen with the color had. While Su-won ignored them, the girl-Yona she called herself-occasionally glanced over at them and smiled.

All too soon Su-won was called over by the other lady on the porch. "Bye-bye!" Su-won called, once again blinding cheerful.

Once Su-won and the lady who had to be his/her mother left, Yona abandoned the pan of water and started pulling him over to the three guys. "Ha-kun is Hak." She told them.

"You guys aren't real." Hak said with a frown.

"We are so real." The guy with green hair grumbled. "We're just not alive."

"Hak. Guen-Shuten-Abi." Yona pointed to each person as she said the names.

"Why can we see you? The other kid couldn't." Hak asked.

"Don't know why. Small children are more sensitive to spirits, but it's not universal." The blue-haired guy-Abi-answered.

"Won new. We meet again." Yona declared with absolute certainty.

"It's too hot for this serious a conversation." The guy with white hair, Guen, said.

"If you guys are ghosts, why are you even bothered by the heat?" Hak questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Hell if we know." Shuten said, pulling his sweat-drenched hair off his neck with a grimace.

* * *

Introductions over, Hak found himself pulled around the garden to various points that Yona deemed important. While the flowers were pretty, he didn't get what about a stone bench underneath a tree was so important. She climbed up onto it, giving him a look that clearly said he was to join her.

Sitting next to her, she started babbling intently, gesturing with her arms. "Okay…" Hak said, taking in her eager look.

She huffed, irritated at his lack of understanding, and decided to climb on top of him. Off balance, he found himself laying on the cool stone of the bench with her sprawled on top of him. Hugging onto him, Yona tucked her head underneath his chin with a yawn.

"Can't I get up and play more?" Hak asked.

"No! Hak-'low!"

Resigned to being stuck until she either woke up or her mother took pity and came over to get her off of him, Hak took in the leaves moving in the light breeze. There was a sound of flowing water trickling in the background, and Hak found it harder and harder to keep his eyes open.

Hak started when he felt a small hand on his cheek. Opening his eyes, he took in the red shades of evening and the lengthening shadows. Yona was smiling softly at him, her eyes impossibly old. "Yona happy. Hi'yu happy."

"That's nice; but can you let me up? I'm hungry." Hak looked away as his face grew hot.

He'd never, ever, say it out loud, but laying here with Yona was the closest he felt to home in a long time. He was truly happy, and for some reason, Hak was sure that 'Ha-kun', whoever that was, was happy too.

* * *

When Mundok came back to take him back to the Wind Tribe's rooms, Yona was having none of it. "Hak stay!" She said with a glare, clinging to him like a monkey.

Mundok was shocked to see Hak tolerating this. "You sure, Hak?"

"I'll be fine, just come back tomorrow Gramps." Hak said.

"It's Grandpa!" Mundok might have reacted more, but with Cheonsa in the room smiling serenely, he just left the two to their dinner.

Hak eyed Cheonsa out of the corner of his eye, impressed. "How'd you do that?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She questioned, her smile widening slightly in a way that sent shivers down his spine.

Hak refocused on his food, not willing to push this lady that even Mundok was scared of. "Uhh…" He looked over to the three guys who had followed them inside.

"You see them?" Cheonsa asked gently.

"Yeah…who are they? Can you see them?" He asked.

Cheonsa shook her head. "No. They've been at her side since she was born. I can feel them, however."

"But who are they?" He asked again.

"You'll have to ask them." Cheonsa answered, picking up the debris Yona left behind from eating.

"Like those three monkeys will tell me." Hak grumbled.

"MONKEYS!?" They roared, making Yona giggle.

"Cute!" She exclaimed, causing Hak and the three ghosts to look at her.

"…she's got some weird ideas of cute, doesn't she?" Hak said flatly.

"Definitely. Some things never change." Abi answered.

Hak eyed him waiting for an explanation to this second statement, but none was forthcoming.

* * *

Yona lined up a white and a green stuffed dragon at the head of the futon, clinging to a crimson one as she sprawled on top of him again. "What's with laying on me?" He demanded.

She just blinked at him sleepily, curling up on his chest instead of answering.

* * *

Hak groaned, squinting his eyes open.

There was a sun-man next to the futon. Blinking, the sun-man turned into a regular blond-haired guy. "Hak is Ha-kun." Yona told the man.

"Turn out the sun." Hak mumbled.

Since Yona had finally gotten off of him, Hak rolled over, pulling the quilt over his head to block out the light.

* * *

Hak was sure he had dreamed the sun-man, but Yona was holding a blue stuffed dragon in the morning, one he knew she hadn't had the night before. "Where'd that come from?" Hak asked as he pulled on his robe.

"Zeno came!" She answered with a cheer, flinging her arms in the air.

'…that blond guy?" Hak asked. "Who feels like the sun?"

Yona nodded fiercely. Adding the blue dragon to the other three, she started naming them. "Hi'yu Haku'yu Ryo'yu Se'yu."

"Yeah okay." He shrugged off the naming.

"Hasn't the old man told you of the birth myth of Kouka?" Abi asked. "Those are the dragons from the story, except for Ouryuu."

"Nope." He said, letting Yona lead him out of the room to the porch, where Cheonsa was waiting with breakfast.

"Me tell!" Yona cried.

"Yona, no one can quite understand what you say when you tell it." Guen told her gently, who pouted in response.

"In the time of myth," Cheonsa began. "The Crimson Dragon God, Hiryuu-kami descended from Heaven and took on human form. As King Hiryuu, he founded the Kingdom of Kouka. The people of that era were filled with hate and malice, forgetting the gods. Taken prisoner by those seeking power, Hiryuu was about to be killed, his four dragon brothers, Hakuryuu-kami, Seiryuu-kami, Ryokuryuu-kami and Ouryuu-kami, appeared. They urged Hiryuu to let them destroy all humans in punishment for their treatment of him and for having turned away from the gods.

"But Hiryuu refused. 'I, too, am human now.' He told them. 'Even if they hate me and betray me, I cannot help but love them.' While accepting his decision, the dragon gods could not bear to leave him unguarded. So each went in a direction of the compass, to seek a human whom they deemed worthy of receiving their power and becoming a warrior bound to Hiryuu. Hakuryuu-kami gave his warrior an arm with the strength of ten men. Seiryuu-kami bestowed eyes that could see vast distances and into the hearts of men. Ryokuryuu-kami granted to his warrior a leg that could leap up to the Heavens. And Ouryuu-kami gifted his warrior a sturdy body to act as a shield.

"With the four dragon warriors at his side, Hiryuu brought peace to the land. Each of the five of them founded a clan that developed into one of the five tribes today. With peace established, the dragon in Hiryuu's soul grew weary, and went to its eternal rest. With their king and friend gone, the dragons each went separate ways, to keep the power they had been granted safe from those who would use them for evil."

"Eh, accurate for the most part." Guen commented. "The text ends with a prophecy saying that when darkness returns to the land, Hiryuu will be reborn and the dragons gathered again."

"Hmmm…" Hak hummed as he took all this in. "I'd rather trust in my own power if bad stuff's gonna happen, not just hope that some musty old guy is gonna show up."

Veins started bulging in Shuten's and Abi's foreheads. Hak stuck his tongue out at them. Guen began clenching and unclenching his fist. Breathing deep, he turned and punched Shuten, sending him out into the garden. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Shuten roared, leaping at Guen with his spear at the ready.

"I'm not hitting a kid no matter how bratty he is!" Dodging, he grabbed Abi to use as a shield.

Abi squawked, reminding Hak of when he scared the chickens at the old man's house. "Leave me out of it!" Pulling free, Abi ran into the garden, Guen and Shuten following.

"…are those monkeys always like this?" He asked Cheonsa, already acclimated to the chaos.

"'ever and ever!" Yona answered with a grin. "Cute too!"

"Not sure I wanna know what else you think is cute." Hak told her dryly.

Yona patted his arm. "Hak cute too."

Cheonsa hid her smile with her sleeve as Hak turned bright red.

* * *

Omake (?)

Why Hiryuu was reborn as a girl

The four dragon warriors sat gathered outside the birthing room, where Hiryuu's wife, Queen Ha-kun, was in labor. By all rights Hiryuu should have been with them, wearing a hole in the floor pacing, like Guen was, but Ha-kun had been adamant that Hiryuu see every part of the labor. While before their marriage brought the lands to the south-east into Kouka, she had been called the Lightning Dame for her blindingly fast strikes, her temper and mood swings throughout the pregnancy had earned her a new name: Thunder Lady (or Beast when everyone was completely sure she was out of earshot).

Oddly enough, Zeno, despite having no experience whatever regarding women, was the calmest of the four. "Everyone within five ri would come for me to help whenever the animals gave birth. They all swore the animals were calmer when I was there, and that the foals and calves and lambs were always healthier. Don't think there was any truth to it, but it helped them, and there'd always be plenty of food to take back to the orphans." Zeno explained, frowning as he practiced his brush strokes under Abi's increasingly distracted gaze.

While Zeno could read fine, Abi had deemed his calligraphy to be in dire need of improvement.

"My family dumped small fortunes onto the nearest temple whenever one of Father's or Elder Brother's wives went into labor. I don't think there was a confinement that was completely problem-free, however." Abi commented, his glances to the door growing more frequent.

"Seiryuu, just stare at the door already!" Shuten complained, sharpening his spear.

He had brought most of the armory to sharpen, and was on the third pass through. "All I know 'bout birthing is the girls would only get three days before they had to be back."

Realizing that if he kept sharpening he'd wear the edge out faster, he switched to redoing the bindings on the spear heads. "Well, that and there can be a lot of blood. More than gutting a guy."

Zeno looked queasy at the proposition.

"My ma was the local midwife. Before my sister was old enough, I'd get dragged along to help. I was tossed out when it was nearly over, but there were several times when the bleeding didn't stop." Guen said, his pacing speeding up. "And if the girl was too small, ma would loss both."

"Ha-kun-sama will be okay, right?" Zeno asked, worried.

Screams echoed through the corridors. "DAMNIT HIRYUU I SWEAR IN THE NEXT LIFE I'M GOING TO GET YOU PREGNANT AND WE'LL SEE HOW WELL YOU HANDLE IT!"

There was a pause, probably Hiryuu answering, then the yelling returned. "DON'T YOU 'YES DEAR' ME! IF YOU FAINT I'LL STAB YOU!"

What followed was a series of curses that had Shuten stealing Zeno's paper and brush ('Hey!') to start writing them down. "Ummm…what she's saying…isn't physically possible, is it?" Zeno asked, his eyes growing wider and wider as the curses got more inventive before cutting off into an ear-splitting screech.

The shrill cry of a newborn replaced the screech. "It better be a boy, cuz I don't think the castle will survive a second pregnancy." Guen prayed.

It was over an hour before they were allowed in to see the baby, Crown Prince Yak-shi. Ha-kun, while pale, appeared more even-tempered than she had in months.

Hiryuu, however, was a wreck. "I'm in one piece…somehow." He said, eyes barely open.

"And you'll stay in one piece as long as you keep your promise." She declared, a dark smirk on her face.

"…we don't want to know, do we?" Abi asked.

"Never figured you for a hen-pecked husband, King." Shuten snickered.

Hiryuu blinked. "Hen-pecked? There's no hens to peck me."

"It's a figure of speech, dear. Means you do whatever I say, no matter how embarrassing it is for you." Ha-kun explained. "Now I know why they usually don't let men into the birthing room. Complete wimps."

* * *

Not very imaginative naming, but it works.


	4. Chapter 4

Zeno sat in an unused corner of the apprentice priests' dormitories, finishing up the stuffed yellow dragon. It had been a long time since there was enough apprentices for this room to be used, a situation that did not appear to be likely to change in the near future.

When he had played at being a priest all those years ago, he had never expected the position he created to play the role it had in Kouka politics. It was in one of its down swings of influence, so it would likely be another century or two before there would be enough apprentices to put this room back in use. It was a gamble to be sure, effectively squatting in Hiryuu Castle, but winters had been harsh the last couple years, and frostbite was something he preferred to avoid as much as possible.

That, and it was unexpectedly hard to stay away from Hiryuu's reincarnation, Yona.

He had come the first time mostly out of curiosity. Making the stuffed crimson dragon…it felt like the right thing to do, to leave a token behind, even if Yona never knew where it came from. His plan when he sneaked into the room had been to simply take a look, leave the dragon, and leave.

The absolute last thing he expected was experiencing the awakening again when her eyes met his. The dim light that had floated on the edge of his conscious since the red star appeared in the sky flared into a torch, his blood boiling as the vow renewed itself to a new master.

It was less surprising that she seemed to recognize him. Promising four more dragons had been an impulse decision. Getting the right shade of crimson had been hard enough, but…

Feeling her baby-joy at a familiar face, and her longing for him to stay decided for him.

He had taken up in the dormitory then. It was close enough via hidden passage to the family quarters, as well as the kitchens and clothing workshops. Maids, or apprentice priests for that matter, didn't even bother coming to dust, and the outrageousness of someone squatting inside the royal castle meant he felt moderately secure.

"Zeno really shouldn't stay here…but it's too hard to leave." He commented, frowning down at one of the wings.

"Kaya can't blame Zeno; she's too cute!" Kaya chimed, somewhere to his right.

Feeling Kaya again, as well as Guen, Abi, and Shuten had been another surprise. Had Yona not expressly pointed at each spot and naming them, he may well have thought he had imagined it. But Kaya never left. It wasn't long (for someone who'd been around as long as him anyway) before he could get a sense of her words when she touched him, and then he heard her voice again.

Zeno glanced over to Kaya, smiling, before turning back to his stitches. He froze, and looked back. "Ka…ya?"

He could see her.

She was kind of blurry on the edges, but she was visible.

He hadn't hallucinated her voice and presence after all.

"Zeno…can see Kaya?" She asked, shuffling closer to rest a hand on his cheek.

He nodded, throat tight as tears welled up. Setting aside the nearly finished dragon, he reached for her, stopping shy of her hair. Tears of her own started as she placed her other hand on his other cheek, cupping his face. "I'm here Zeno." She whispered.

"Kaya, I'm sor-" A finger to his lips cut him off.

"Kaya doesn't need any apologies. Without you, I'd have died alone, with no one ever knowing I was gone. I didn't die afraid as I strained to breathe, choking on my blood. I died warm and loved and happier than I'd ever been. So please, don't apologize for anything." She told him, resting her forehead on his as their tears fell.

"…Z-I still should have told you something, before the end…" He whispered, gazing at the ground.

"Maybe because I was dying…sometimes, out of the corner of my eye, I'd see scales on your skin. Then it wasn't just out of the corner of my eye, but something that vanished as soon as I was aware of it. At the end…you glowed like the sun, and your figure was overlaid with Ouryuu-kami."

He started at this last bit. "Ouryuu…?"

"He came for me." It was Kaya's turn to look down. "He told me…he had seen what Hiryuu-kami would do, before he ever conceived of it. So he planned ahead, picking a baby who could hear the gods. The power of the dragons would be needed at least once more beyond that time, but all four were inherited legacies…there needed to be someone to carry the knowledge of that time forward. And he was curious too, what Hiryuu-kami saw in humans, but he couldn't bear the thought of joining his brother on Earth without either of them able to defend themselves. He couldn't save me…because once he was inside of you, he had no way of telling you anything."

She looked back up at Zeno's startled face. "When he conceived of giving a human his body, he never thought you would change him as much as he changed you."

"…so the part about the warriors becoming the other halves of the dragons…is literal in my case?" Zeno asked.

"As far as I can understand. He…he was able to let be stay at your side without turning into a possessing spirit, because in life you had shared some of your power with me, without realizing it." Kaya answered, blushing at the end.

Zeno blushed too at the implication. "You've…been at my side ever since…?"

"Yes." She said simply.

He paled at her answer and what it implied. She had seen when loneliness drove him to tear himself to shreds, the various ways he had killed himself-or been killed-over the years, the frankly stupid experiments he had done, testing the limits, partly out of boredom, partly out of curiosity, and partly hoping one of them would work.

"Zeno is not doing this." She said sternly, turning his face back to her. "If any of that had scared me off, I wouldn't be here now. I cried with you, and held you even though you couldn't feel it, and drove into your dreams to help create some happiness for you, even if the details faded when you woke. I love you, Zeno. I am your wife, and like how you stayed with me until my body was bones, I will stay with you until we can both go above the skies."

"Kaya…" He could only whisper, reaching for her and stopping shy of hugging her. "…Zeno can't touch you, but you can touch him?"

"Yes…Kaya doesn't know why. But you can touch Kaya back in your dreams tonight, after you give the dragon to Yona." She promised him.

* * *

She was flying through the sky, him-her keeping her steady on top of dragon-them. Alongside them were the other dragons, with only the yellow dragon bearing a single rider instead of a pair. But then the rider on the yellow dragon was the yellow dragon, and a girl nearly as bright as her sun took his place.

The younger of the pair on the green dragon was ignoring the elder, shuffling so far forward that he was practically between the dragon's horns. Scowling, the elder did nothing to draw him back, but kept careful watch over him anyway.

The boy on the blue dragon spent as much time looking baffled at all of them as staring ahead, the wind on his unhidden face an unknown pleasure. The man steadying him had a bittersweet smile on his face at the younger's joy.

The boy on the white dragon looked up starry-eyed at the elder of the pair, asking questions so fast the elder could only look at him puzzled. This drew a scowl from the boy on the green dragon, and the boy on the white dragon started yelling at him. The elders on the green and white dragons just shook their heads, exchanging bemused smiles.

A new dragon, as dark as Ha-kun and Hak's hair, fell into place beside her, Hak insisting to Ha-kun that he didn't need to be steadied and her telling him she didn't care if he fell. But the steadying hand on Hak's back, and how he made no effort to move it, said otherwise.

"I can't wait to meet all of them." She told him-her. "Cuz they're mine, not yours-mine."

"You sure you don't want to share?" Him-her asked, bemused in the way adults usually were with her.

"The past is the past, and it's enough to carry the memories forward as new bonds are made." She turned back to him-her with a sly look. "Besides, yours can only give people the chills, not beat them up."

There was general sense of outrage from the elders as him-her laughed, Hak and Ha-kun shared identical dark smirks, and the yellow dragon and his girl-no, the rider of the yellow dragon and his girl-tried and failed not to giggle as the dream faded.

* * *

Her sun was close by, the murmur of his voice talking to Guen and Abi and Shuten forming into words. "…never thought I'd feel all of you again, let alone see you."

She sat up with a yawn. "Zeno…?" It was cold as she crawled out of her cocoon of blankets, but Zeno was more than warm enough to serve as a substitute. "Cold."

"The miss should have stayed in bed if she's cold." He said as she crawled into his lap, letting her cling to his side as he wrapped his cloak around both of them.

"Zeno here." She said, looking up at him. Why stay in bed if Zeno was here?

If she was on top of him, he'd stay longer.

"You know you're her favorite." Guen mock-grumbled.

"Only because she doesn't see Zeno every day like you three." He answered.

Poking around at his tunic, she uncovered the last stuffed dragon, the yellow one. Clinging to him, she asked, "Zeno no more come?"

"Hm? Why does Miss say that?" He looked down at her, confused.

"All of 'em." She gestured to the four dragons curled up in her blankets with her new yellow one.

She should get back in the blankets before they got cold, but it was hard to let go of Zeno.

"Well…" Her sun started, humming. "Would the Miss mind if Zeno came without a present?"

"Zeno IS present." She informed him with a frown.

He had been so sad and so lonely for so long, just him here with her, if not happy-happy at least content, was enough of a gift.

"Zeno can't keep away from Yona, and neither can Kaya." Her sun's sun commented, crouching close.

"Listen to Kaya!" Yona exclaimed, grabbing for Kaya's sleeve and frowning as her hand passed through, like when her three spirits fought over dangling things for her to try and grab, only for her hand to pass through.

"Yes, listen to your wife, you hen-pecked husband." Shuten said with a snicker.

"Where hens?" Yona asked him, Kaya snuggling up next to Zeno with her between them. "No hens here."

Something about the phrase was familiar, even more so when her trio of spirits and Zeno smothered laughs.

Closing her eyes, Yona basked in the presence of him-her dragons, her sun and her sun's sun. Her parents floated warm out of sight, along with Won, and Hak was off to the south-east.

"Yona happy. Hiwryuu happy." She whispered to herself as she fell back asleep as her spirits and Zeno continued talking, the murmur of their voices a lullaby.

It would be better if her dragons were beside her, but she could find them in her dreams. And that was enough for now.

* * *

Yes, yes I did cry writing the Zeno/Kaya bit.


End file.
